The Fairy and the Darkness
by ariescelestial
Summary: A short piece touching on both Tiz's and Ringabel's mishaps before they reached Caldisla, through the eyes of their tiniest ally. (Despite being pre-game, this has major spoilers for the entire game.)


After guiding the celestial's light into Tiz's body, the fairy closed her eyes and waited for that first breath. The troubled rise and fall of the chest she knelt on told her the celestial had successfully taken up residence, and she gave one of the mightiest shoves her tiny arms could muster before flying up a good foot. It was generally good to be out of the way when the boy heaved up all the water he'd drowned in.

In a way, Tiz Arrior's story was a constant one. In every world that the Great Chasm opened in, he died. He always died. She'd never seen that change. In some worlds he was the one to fall instead of his younger brother, either while rescuing him or by a changed circumstance in where they'd been standing when the chasm swallowed up Norende. In a number of worlds he simply fell after Til after the unstable ground gave way and died at the bottom of the pit, far too broken for his body to be revived. Then there was this kind of world, where he still fell and injured himself but, thanks to a small ledge, avoided an instant drop to his doom. Instead his demise was prolonged. If he wasn't torn apart by the monsters emerging from the chasm, it would be that he hauled himself back up the side of the cliff and wandered, the confused path of his footprints indicating a likely concussion on top of shock and grief, until he reached the river. There he collapsed and fell into the dangerous waters of the newly-upset stream. There he was carried away and drowned. Dead, again, until she found his body snagged on rocks and bound a willing celestial to him. If only she could find him before that, lead him away from the danger…! But just like her sister, she was limited. She couldn't enter any Luxendarc except from the same point, after the Holy Pillar of the last had already pierced it through and opened a Great Chasm. After Tiz's death had already been set into motion. At least this way, he still had a chance to become the strong and kind warrior he'd been in the very first world. That was the reason the fairy always chose him for the celestial's blessing: she believed in him. For as many worlds as he'd been tricked in, his heart and will ever persevered. At the moment every Luxendarc's future was bleakest, she knew he would shine bright.

But for now his face was pale and wan, barely betraying the life he'd just regained. She kept her eyes on him to make sure his face stayed turned up and out of the water as she flew higher and higher, above the tallest trees and out of sight of the humans coming his way. She smiled warmly at the white-blond, fluffy hair of one. Along with her, he was Tiz's rescuer, the one who helped bring him to a safer place. He might not know about their secret partnership, but that wouldn't stop it from brightening her glow.

There it was then: celestial placed, Tiz revived, his rescuer on the verge of discovering him. The fairy kicked off into a small loop in the air, allowing herself to feel proud that this Luxendarc was ready. She needed these moments, because she already knew things would likely not go well on this world. The odds were stacked precariously high against the three Warriors of Light. But surely, in the end, they'd win. She was going to keep believing that.

The window of opportunity that had opened with the Great Chasm's rupture was steadily closing. She needed to leave soon, or the only way she'd be able to get to the next Luxendarc would be by showing up at this world's Holy Pillar—and crossing paths with Airy. Her sister might be the younger one, but she was a terrible enemy to have with the power she was leeching off of each Pillar. Distracted by the thought of her estranged sibling, the fairy nearly didn't realize the curious sight she was seeing. But she was so used to spotting that head of white-blond, fluffy hair that after a moment, it clicked: there it was, in a thicket about one hundred yards away. Which was completely off from the stream! What was he doing so far away from Tiz? He had to find him before the goblins came! She looked directly beneath her, worried about her Warrior of Light, and sighed in relief to see him being pulled up from the water just as he was supposed to be, his recovery—and the sighting of monsters—setting off a flurry of activity within the search party. His rescuer, as always, had white-blond, fluffy hair.

Something was different about this world. She was sure she would have noticed at least a thousand worlds ago if there were two men with the same unusual hair at this moment… Who was the other?

She still had a little time before she had to leave. Time to investigate. With a burst of speed, she flew toward the batch of trees. Every sharpened detail of the man gave wind to her wings, because as the distance shortened it was clear that something was very wrong.

He did not just share his hairstyle with Tiz's rescuer. He shared his eyes, coloring and general size, though his face mask and heavy armor obscured if the similarity went even further than that. More worrying was just how damaged the armor was, as well as the blood trailing the side of his head. And the man was weeping, his breath ragged and distressed. A book lay in front of him, and in its pages he was laboring over a crude drawing of…

Of…

…She'd seen this being once before, when she had been foolish enough to stay in the worlds and make her way to the Holy Pillar to try persuading her sister to stop this madness. Airy had boasted of the power she was gaining through her lord's blessing and changed into a vile creature.

This man had seen that form. Airy would have only revealed herself once the world she was in was already linked to the next, when she could kill with impunity before wiping clean the slate to bloody anew. So that meant, this man must have been at the Holy Pillar of the last world. He was not similar to Tiz's rescuer. He was him, from another instance.

The fairy's small ears were suddenly filled with a screaming that made them feel fit to burst. But if the sound hadn't made her cringe and instinctively flit away, she would have been hit squarely by a dark wave of energy that instead sliced upwards through the trees, killing dozens of leaves at once and setting them to fall from their branches.

It was far from the most focused attack a dark knight could have made. Considering he had made it with the first object to come to hand—lacking a sword, he had grabbed a _stick_ to direct his energy into—she was more scared by the fury behind it than the power. The young man who had unknowingly helped her in thousands of worlds was laying eyes on her for the first time, and his eyes were broken, filled with hate and despair.

"You—!"

She couldn't tell if the screaming that followed held any other words. She was too busy dodging the next two minus strikes he directed at her.

He must have thought she was her sister; the differences between them were literally minute. "Stop, stop! I'm not your enemy!"

A lifetime ago, she might have wondered what Airy could have even done to merit such rage. She'd learned since that she didn't want to know the details of every last murder. However, one word did become intelligible in his screaming, repeated as it was: the name of the third warrior of light. The fairy cringed when realization struck her. Edea…! She'd never gotten to know Edea so well as Tiz and Agnès; the blonde Eternian had appeared in the sordid cycle after that first fateful adventure, after the first Agnès fell through the Holy Pillar and shattered Luxendarc's history with her dying will. But it seemed one didn't need to know Edea long, as the girl's strong values made her ever consistent and reliable.

Which played to her sister's advantage as well. She'd used and killed Edea time and time again, too. This time was only different in the apparent surviving witness.

His attacks didn't stop because she called to him. They stopped only when his injuries forced them to, his ruined armor scraping the wood he sagged against. She remained behind another tree, peering cautiously at him, her tiny hands gripping tightly on bark ridges. His pain was so tangible, she could feel a part of it herself. She wanted to help him for once, but how?

He mumbled something. A plea. She wondered what it was.

It was repeated, louder, moaning: "Kill me. I ought to have died with her…"

The despondency in his voice chilled her, and she turned her face away.

"Come back! Come back and fight me, demon!"

A call to the reaper that held no bravery in it. He surely did not expect to survive battle.

…Would it help him to know Edea was yet alive in this world? What a mixed blessing. The young woman he cherished might be alive, but she would know him as another, if she knew him at all; alternate histories could be tricky like that. For that matter, consistent as Edea was, any change in their shared history could make her too different from his dear one to be of comfort. But if he stayed out here in the wilderness, in this morass of guilt and grief? She had seen how many times that had killed Tiz. She could not just hover about when there was possibly something that could be done. Even a false hope would be hope, so long as it carried him to safety. To where his hurts in body and soul might be soothed by the compassion of others.

He thought she was the enemy, though. He didn't have any reason to believe her, and she did not have the time left in this Luxendarc to win his faith. Trust in this world was always Airy's commodity, to be turned into a weapon.

…While she could not have his trust because of her sister, she had certainly claimed his attention, didn't she?

He looked ready to let his knees buckle beneath him when she laughed, loud and obnoxious so he could hear it clearly even while she remained concealed. "Oh, spare me! Why should I bother with you? You didn't even try to entertain me."

It was a guess at how her sister might taunt someone who had crossed her path before, and judging from the strangled scream, it was convincing enough. She closed her eyes for a moment, reaching for resolve. If her sister could act kind to be cruel, she could be cruel to give this man a reason to live.

"Edea, however…"

That pushed him into action again, and she was knocked back as a dark wave of energy sliced through her hiding place. She was a fairy of light, though. While that hadn't felt pleasant, it'd take more than unfocused attacks from a single dark knight to kill her. She straightened herself and flitted up and away from him, willing her face to remain impassive as she turned back.

"You murdered her!"

"I did! Any suggestions on how I should take care of her this next time? It doesn't sound like the first time was good enough for you."

Acting like this reaffirmed just how long ago she had given up on her sister returning to the celestials. There was no way the chain of misery between Luxendarcs would end in anything but death, and she hoped her sister fell along with Ouroboros.

Perhaps she had turned a bit cruel herself.

The man still hadn't quite worked out what her words meant, his eyes betraying confusion behind a mess of drooping white-blond hair, and she forced another laugh at a man who could barely remain on his feet. "You still haven't figured it out? What the crystals really are? Humans are so stupid."

"The Lord Marshal told me enough," he growled. "What does it have to do with Edea?!"

"Figure it out. You were at the Holy Pillar, and emerged from the Great Chasm. They summoned the Holy Pillar to get rid of the chasm, not even realizing it's the cause! Norende's fallen again!" Her poor, poor heroes of light. If any versions of them had figured out the truth, they must have been horrified.

…Ah. The templar really must have told him enough, as a look of astonishment stole onto his face. He had already realized part of the truth, that opening the Pillar weakened the integrity of Luxendarc as a world, but he had not realized that in addition to having traversed dimensions, he had fallen back in time. Back to when the chasm first opened. "She's alive." His hand tightened on the book he held. A journal?

"Yes. For now." She swerved away from the next strike; she had expected that taunt to be too much provocation. But she needed to provoke him, motivate him and make sure that fire didn't leave his eyes. "Why don't you save her this time? Or at least try to. Make it a little more interesting for me!"

His pinched expression and narrowed eyes made it clear he was suspicious of the invitation, and yet he did not question it. Why would he? It was clear from his behavior he thought he had nothing to lose, nothing else she could take from him.

"This time will be different," he promised.

"I look forward to it," she answered, wondering what she was setting into motion here. Edea was typically in Caldisla at this time. He could find her, but if he did, what would he do? And how would she react? Would he be hostile to Tiz and Agnès, or did he now understand they had been acting with the best of intentions? Perhaps most importantly, what would happen with Airy?

Questions she would not be able to see answered. She could feel the connection between her and the celestial realm growing strained. She had to leave. "One friendly piece of advice," she said, sure he would take that as sarcasm. "There's already one of you here. You can't be the dark knight." She had to make sure he was aware of that; the few other times there had been doubles in Luxendarc, they had often made things worse for themselves with disastrous misunderstandings.

He smiled then, a broad, wry, hollow gesture, and the fairy felt a touch disturbed. "Ah. Perhaps he's less of a coward."

He dropped the asterisk easily—far too easily, considering she hadn't even been asking him to do that—allowing the dark armor around him to vanish as he staggered southeast, toward the land where it all began. Perhaps it was because he'd seen how ineffective his attacks were. …Perhaps because what was making his attacks useless was clouding his other thoughts. Asterisk holders typically did not give up their most prized possession. His state of mind, he wasn't… all there. Which was why she had egged him on, to make sure he'd head to Caldisla where he could recover, but… she wondered. If she hadn't just accidentally done something terrible, with the best of intentions. A touch of evil she'd failed to strain away from the good, as seemed to happen all too often in this world.

He'd make it to Caldisla, at least. Tiz's rescuer would have a chance to live. She had to focus on that. With a small drop to the ground she gathered up in her arms the dark knight asterisk, as always bewitchingly warm in spite of its fearsome power, and left this Luxendarc with the same prayer as always. The hope that one day, this world would find peace, and her heroes would no longer have to suffer.


End file.
